Lumber feeding conveyer for saw trimmers



E. c. MEAD ,2,403,673

LUMBER FEEDNQ CONVEYER FOR SAW TRIMMEBS I July 9, 194e.

Filed March 17, 1944 /NvE/vroe E/ MER C'. M940 WW' Arron/vga.

Patented July 9, 1946 LUNlBER FEEDING CONVEYER FOR SAW TRIMIYIERS ElmerC. Mead, Scotia, Calif., assigner tov The Pacific Lumber Company, SanFrancisco, Calif., a corporation of Maine Application March 17, 1944,SeralNo. 5263922 4 Claims. 1 invention relates veyers and has for itsprincipal object improvements in such conveyers especiallyadapted forfeeding of boards to a gang-saw trimmer for cutting 01T the boards tostandard lengths. The improvement including means for straightening oraligning the boards or bundles of boards at right angles tolthedirection of travel of the conveyer and definitely spacing the boardsor bundles with respect to the requirements of the saw trimmer.

Specific features and advantages of the construction will appear inthefollowing description andaccompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig; 1 is a plan. view of aportion of the conveyer andtrimmer.

to lumber feeding con- Y Fig. 2 is a side-elevation of my lumber feedingl conveyer shown in operative relation to a gangsaw trimmer.

Before describing the drawing in detail it should be stated that myimproved lumber feeding conveyer is `shown feeding bundles of boards toanautomatic length selecting cut off saw as shown in my joint Patent No,2,332,654 of October 26, 1943, and therefore the few elements of thesawing machine shown in the present' drawing are numbered to correspondwith the same elements asshown insaid patent for easy identication, asthe whole saw machine is not shown herein, but only as much as isnecessary to show its cooperative relation to the special lumber feed..ing conveyer and tripping arrangement constituting the presentinvention.

In the patent and in the present drawing the automatic length selectingcut oif saw machine comprises a frame I with a series of horizontallydisposed lumber supporting rails or guides 2| along which guides bundlesof lumber B extendling transversely of the rails, are moved by thepusher lugs 22 of a series of endless traveling chains 23, past a seriesof spacedv circular saws 6. These saws are normally depressed below thebundles of lumber, and by reason of certain trips operated by one end ofthe bundle one saw only rises to trim oithat end of the bundle to makethe boards in that particular bundle all of astandard length. 'Iheseries of endless chains 23 are supported over suitable wheels orsprockets and 25 mounted on shafts 26, 21 and all driven in unison byshaft 21, all as described in said patent.

While the drawing shows the saw machine as operating, on bundles ofboards which are tied together with ropes or'wires 63 at spaced pointsalongltheir length, it willof course operate with sin'gle boards' in thesame way,v the pre-bundling of the boards-made up of boards of about thesame length with their ends substantially` aligned at one. end of thebundle only-as explained'v in the patent,- is done-'to greatly increasethe output of the sawing'machine.

In thes'awingfmachlne of the patent the' boards or bundles of boards hadtorbeplaced-upon the laterally extending portions-25| of the guidesbyhand, whereas inthepresent improvement-con'- veyer means -is providedfordoingthisand also insuring that the boards-or bundles-of boards aresuitably spaced and straightened-up to lie-at-right angles across theV'guide's' 2 whentheyreach them and in proper' position sothat -whenthe'- next pusher lugs 22of the sawingl machine comelalong, they willall properly engagethebundle The improvement comprises providing aseries of laterally'spaced conveyer bands- |0| 4which pass over headpulleys luz-'supported on a shaft |03 driven by any-suitable means notshown. The conveyer bands 0| arehere indicated as flat belts, tho theymay'be'chains, and they are of any desiredlength to 'pass over suitabletail pulleys at the far end not shown. Also these conveyer bands are-preferably slid'ably supported as by guides |04 to better' carry theweight of the lumber bundles B,

Conveyer |0| terminates in spaced relation to the-sawing machine, andbridging the space is a relatively short chainconveyer comprising aspaced series of endless chains |05 passing over sprockets |05, |01respectively supported on shafts |08, |09, the latter being driven by achain ||0 from shaft 21`v ofthe sawing machine as by sprockets and`||2'.

Shaft |08 is spaced to the left of shaft |03 so that conveyers |0|-and|05: will be in overlapping relation and so-'that the bundles of lumbercoming along in direction of tl'iel arrows on conveyer |0| may betransferred from conveyer |0| to conveyer |05, but means is provided tocontrol such a transfer whichv comprises` a pair of shafts ||3, ||3extending parallel with shafts 03 and |08 but to the left' of the latterand which shafts each carry a series of stop arms ||4, H4' extendinglaterally to the right, and which arms may be alternately rocked (withtheir shafts) from a position substantially parallel with and below theupper plane ofconveyer |0|, to an angularly raised position extendingabove the plane of the conveyer as shown respectively for arms I4 andI4, by means of a piston rod I5 of a double acting air` cylinder |13'operatively connected to a rocker arm H1 linked at opposite endsrespectively by rods H8, H8 to arms H4, H4.

The air cylinder is pivotally connected as at ||9 to its base plate |20to compensate for arcuate motion of the rocker arm, and is connected toa common so-called four-way air control valve |23 positioned under thesawing machine and which valve has an 'operating lever. |24- linked asat |25 to a. tripping lever |26 pivotally mounted as at |21 to the frameof the sawing machine in position so that the upper end |21 of thetripping lever will be tripped by each vof the chain lugs 22 of thetraveling chains 23 of the machine and will at once return upon passingof the lug by the action of a return spring |28,

Compressed air is supplied from any suitable source to the valve |23 andnormally (with the valve lever |24 in un-tripped position as shown inthe drawing) the pressure is at the right-hand or underside of theairfcylinder piston |29 and arms vH4 are therebylifted at an angle tointerceptgthe oncoming bundle of lumber and support it `above conveyer`chains, which are preferably just atrie higherthan-belts y ,enthecontrol--valve-lever |24 is tripped by the. passing fof a,-lug 22 itswitches the air pressure from hose |2| to hose |22 While exhausting theformer; to atmosphere in the well-known way chair-controlvalves; and-thus forces the piston |29 back, tn .lower -the arms H4 and deposit thelumberbundle; upon chains which carry new' thesawmggnacmne: guides 2|',while at the saineltime arms H4 rise *abovev the conveyer. The speed.ofohainsfl is so determined by their direct gearing to the machinechains 23 thronghthe'common driving shaft 21 that by the-.time theY lug22 which tripped the valve comes `lip-around sprocket 24, the bundlefrom arms H4 Ais in advance of the lug as indicated ilFig. 42Min dottedlines at B, in position ready tolbe engaged and carried under suitableholddownfbarslSZ and past the saws.

The'moment the bundle has been deposited from. arms' U14-to chains |05,the other set of amis-H4'V have risen up to intercept the next bundle,(if one-is close at hand) or lift a bundle whichdnayalready be upon it,to prevent the possibility of two bundles being passed to the saw. Assoon as the leaving bundle has cleared arms H4 they, rise again asspring |28 returns the' tripped air valve |23 to position shown in thedrawing, and arms H4' are lowered again to therebyv transfer theirbundle (if any) from arms'Hd' to arms H4, or if not arms ||4 beingslanted above the conveyer will intercept the next bundle of .lumbercoming along. The extreme ends of the arms arepreferably turned up atriiie to form aligning v`stops |33 as indicated in the drawing. Thebundles are made up at a, remote point and placed on conveyer |0|roughly spaced as to sawing machine requirements and may or may not beextending at right angles across the conveyer, but as each one startst'o ride up the inclined stop arms it automatically is swung intocorrect position so as to insure the lugs 22 of the several chains ofthe sawing machine all coming up behind it after the bundle has beentransferred to the machine by the intermediate feederconveyer |05.

It islof course understood that the conveyers IBI andi |85 are of atotal breadth to handle the longest lumber desired to be trimmed, or inother words,. aboutV equal to the total length of the sawing .machinewhich they are used to feed, andalsd that the various shafts aresuitably supported in bearings |30 in turn supported on suitableframework |3|.

Having thus described my improved lumber feeder for sawing machines itwill be evident to those skilled in the art that in place of airopcrated cylinder H6 hydraulic operation may be resorted to,- also thatnumerous other details may be changed within the scope of the invention,and I therefore claim:

l. In a lumber feeder of the character described, a multiple strandconveyer across the strands of which the lumber extends, a purality ofsupporting arms beneath the conveyer, and means pivotally mounting saidarms for slanted projection upward between the conveyer strands so as toforce the lumber to ride up on said arms and stop while the cenveyercontinues to'travel beneath the lumber, and timed means for loweringsaid arms to permit said bundle to continue its travel, said armsprovided with a denitestop carried by the arms, at their outer ends tolimit the movement of the lumber up on said arms, andv which stop islowered" with the arms below the level of the conveyer when the arms arelowered. l. v

2.1m a lumber feeder of the character described, a multiple strandconveyer across Athe strands of which the lumber extends, aplurality ofsupporting arms beneath the conveyer, and means `pivotallymounting saidarms for slanted projection upward between the conveyer strands so as toforce the lumber to ride up on said arms and stop while `the conveyercontinues to travel beneath the lumber, andtimed means for lowerin/gsaid arms to permit said bundle to continue its travel, their being twosets of said supporting arms, one set following the other set indirection of travel of the lumber, and actuating means for the two setsof arms so arranged as to lower one set vof arms and raise the other setand vice versa.

3. Ina lumber feeder of the character described, a multiple strand rstconveyer across the strands of which the lumber extends, a plurality ofsupporting arms beneath the conveyer, and means pivotally mounting saidarms for slanted projection upward between the conveyer strands so as toforce the lumber to ride up on said arms and stopwhile the conveyercontinues to travel beneath the lumber, and timed means for loweringsaid arms to permit said bundle to continue its travel, and a secondmultiple strand conveyer in overlapping end relation with the firstconveyer which receives the bundle when the arms are lowered forcarrying it to a machine to be fed, said machine having a multiplestrand feed conveyer in overlapping end relation with the secondconveyer provided with a lumber engaging lug projecting therefrom forcarrying lumber to said machine, compressed air operated means forraising and lowering said arms, a trip operated remote control air valvemounted on said machine for controlling said air operated means, saidlug arranged to operate said trip as it moves along to lower said armsso that the lumber will be advanced to the machine in timed relation toIbe engaged by said lug. 1

4. In a lumber feeder of the character described, a multiple strand rstconveyer across Vthe strands lof which the lumber extends, a plurlity ofsupporting arms beneath the conveyer, and means pivotally mounting saidarms for slanted projection upward between theconveyer strands sov as toforce the lumber to ride upon machine, compressed air operated means forraising and lowering said arms, a trip operated remote control air valvemounted on said machine for controlling said air operated means, saidlugs arranged to successively operate said trip as they move along tolower said arms so that the lumber will be advanced to the machine intimed relation to be engaged by the tripping lug, and meansautomatically reversing sai 1o valve upon passing of a tripping lug.

ELMER. C. MEAD.

